A Day at the Looney Bin
by blackandblood
Summary: Takuya gets dragged along to help his grandfather for the day, hellbent against helping out at 'The Nuthouse'. However, he quickly changes his mind after meeting a beautiful blond intern working there. Takumi


**I'm too lazy to say anything important or meaningful, so here is one of my newest one-shots. Enjoy**

**A Day at the Looney Bin**

"Eh, why are we doing this, Grampa? It's Saturday.... I should be sleeping," fifteen year-old Takuya Kanbara complained.

His grandfather, Kichirou, laughed. "Because I said we are going to. It'll do you some good doing something meaningful today as oppose to sleeping until four in the afternoon."

Takuya yawned. "But it's so early...."

"It's eleven in the morning! Besides, you'll feel good about this by the end of the day." Kichirou put his blinker on and turned left, driving the car towards a large building.

"Where are we going?" Takuya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shibuya Mental Health Center," the old man said cheerfully as he pulled into the parking lot.

"WHAAAAAAAAT?! WE'RE GOING TO A LOONEY BIN?!" Takuya cried out, jumping out the open window.

Kichirou grabbed his grandson's ankle before he could succeed. "Takuya, get back in the car! It's still moving!"

"I don't care! I wanna live!" Takuya wailed, frantically trying to free his leg.

His grandfather yanked him back in, accidentally causing Takuya to bang his head against the top of the window. "Sorry about that. But relax, Takuya. There's nothing wrong with going to a mental health facility."

"NOOOOO! I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING TO DESERVE BEING ADMITTED!" Takuya frantically shouted. "I KNOW THAT I LOCKED SHINYA IN THE CLOSET FOR THREE HOURS AND ONLY FED HIM HALF A POP-TART, BUT I SWEAR IT WAS ONLY A PRANK!"

"Dammit, boy! Stop yelling already. My hearing is bad enough as is and I don't need you making it even worse," Kichirou snapped as he parked the car in one of the spaces. "Besides, I'm not admitting you. If I was, don't you think that I would've made you pack a suitcase before leaving?"

"No! It wouldn't matter because they take away all of your things when you go into a looney bin," Takuya said deleriously, looking somewhat crazed.

Kichirou raised an eyebrow. "Takuya, it doesn't work like that. It's a mental health facility, not a prison. And make sure you don't say call it a 'looney bin' in front of the patients. They don't like it when someone does that."

"Why, are they going to stab me with a fork?!" Takuya almost shouted.

"Eh, quiet! The place isn't a full-blown mental institution. It's more of a rehabilitation center for the mentally ill. They don't have any exceedingly violent patients. The worst someone will do to you is smear pudding in your hair," the old man said.

Takuya's eyes widened. "Pudding in my hair?!"

"Okay, now you're just being a drama queen. Come on, boy. Let's get going," Kichirou said as he exited the vehicle.

The brunette angrily muttered curses under his breath, sliding out of the car. "So, what exactly are we doing here?"

"We're going to volunteer and help out for the day," Kichirou told him. "You know, help pass out snacks and meals....help set up entertainment-"

"What?! Why?!" Takuya cried out, now being physically dragged by his grandfather. "No! You can't make me go! I don't want to be around a bunch of nutcases!"

"Would you be quiet?!" Kichirou hissed. "At this rate, I'll _allow _them to attack you with a fork."

The teen grew pale. "Wha-WHAAAT?!"

Kichirou rolled his eyes. "Kids these days....besides, shouldn't you be used to hanging around so-called crazy people anyway?"

"What are you talking about?" Takuya asked as he and his grandfather began to go up the concrete steps outside the building.

"You know, that weird friend of yours that you hang out with," Kichirou mused, trying to think of the kid's name.

"Kouji?" Takuya asked.

Kichirou shook his head. "No, not the angsty one, the weird one. His brother I think...."

"Oh, you mean Kouichi?"

"Yeah, him. Wasn't he admitted to a psyche ward for a week or two?" The old man asked.

Takuya smirked. "Ten days to be exact."

"And wasn't he in the padded room for that matter?" Kichirou inquired. "But you're going to complain about people who are much more sane than Kouichi could ever hope to be?! What did he do to be sent there, anyway?"

"He put on green spandex and climbed to the top of the school. I was supposed to do it with him, but my blue spandex suit was ripped so I had to bail on him," Takuya explained, not seeing how this not only made Kouichi look mentally unstable, but himself as well. "He tried to bungee jump and act like a superhero, but the police arrested him before he could do it. They locked him up for about ten days in the psyche ward until they deemed that he was well enough."

At the same moment, Takuya and Kichirou heard the honking of a bicycle horn. They turned around to see Kouichi biking down the road with an insane look on his face. There was a wagon attached to his bike, where a small monkey with an iPod was seated. Kouichi was laughing maniacally while a police cruiser was following him.

"You'll never catch Marcel and me alive!" The raven-haired teen shouted triumphantly as he pedaled down the road.

"Young man, please release the monkey or return him to the zoo!" The officer yelled at him through a mega-phone as he continued to follow him.

Kichirou raised an eyebrow and stared at his grandson. "Guess that doctor didn't know what he was talking about when he deemed Kouichi to be 'well enough'...."

"Nah, Kouichi's fine," Takuya said as they reached the front doors. "Now you go first. You're the one who wanted to visit the nuthouse."

"Takuya, please! Call it a 'mental health facility'. If I hear you call it 'nuthouse', 'madhouse', 'looney bin', anything like that, I'm gonna kick your butt into next week," Kichirou said sternly, hoping to intimidate Takuya.

"Please do! Anything to get me out of here," Takuya begged.

Kichirou groaned. "Damn, boy...."

The two of them entered the building, immediately making their way to the front lobby. There was a woman at the desk typing something up, though she quickly looked up.

"Hello, I'm Kichirou Kanbara," Takuya's grandfather told the woman. "I volunteered to help out around today. And I already spoke to Dr. Akamatsu about this."

"Oh, yes. He told me that he was expecting you," the receptionist said. "Please take a right down the hallway, and you should see him in the lounge with some of the patients."

"Thank you," Kichirou said, before grabbing the sleeve of Takuya's shirt. "Let's go, boy."

He dragged the brunette down the corrider, finally reaching the lounge that the receptionist had mentioned. There were several tables and chairs, a television playing Shrek, and more seats intended for relaxing. Board games, arts and crafts, paints, snacks, and books were scattered on many of the tables. Patients both young and old were seated, most of them happily interacting with each other.

"This is just great," Takuya muttered, only to feel a chess piece hit him on the head. "Yeah, so glad I came here...."

"Lighten up already. It'll be fine," Kichirou said, only to walk over to a man with a white coat.

Takuya grudgingly followed him, clearly not wanting anything to do with the patients.

"Ah, Mr. Kanbara, I was expecting you," the man said. "I'm pleased that you decided to help out today, as two of my nurses called out sick today."

"All the more reason why I'm happy that I brought my grandson, Takuya, along with me." Kichirou looked at the brunette." Takuya, this is Dr. Akamatsu."

Takuya merely nodded, immediately reverting his gaze down to his cell phone to play a game. Kichirou sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't mind Takuya. He has a very short attention span," he explained to the doctor. "But I assure you, he's a great kid."

"I'm sure that he is," Akamatsu replied. "Would you like me to show to you around so that you know where everything is?"

"That would be great. Takuya, do you want to stay here?" Kichirou asked.

Takuya did not look up from his phone. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever."

"Then it's settled I guess," the doctor said. "He can get to know the patients while we're gone."

"See ya, boy. And don't cause any trouble," Kichirou warned.

"Whatever you say," Takuya replied, clearly not listening.

The old man sighed in defeat, but followed Akamatsu down the hallway, leaving Takuya alone in the lounge with the patients. After several seconds, he heard a soft chuckle, followed by the sound of a voice.

"Engrossed in your game?"

Surprise, Takuya looked up to see a girl standing in front of him. The girl, who looked to be around his age, had long, silky blond hair, and emerald-colored eyes. She was wearing tan capri pants, white sneakers, a lavender shirt, and a white coat similar to Akamatsu's. Takuya turned a deep shade of red.

"Uh....." He was unable to say to anything else.

The girl smiled at him. "I've never seen you here before. Are you a new patient?"

"Oh, uh..no," Takuya finally managed. "I'm just here for the day helping out. My grandfather brought me along."

"Ah, I see," the girl told him. "By the way, I'm Zoe."

"Takuya," he told her, staring at the blond's angelic face.

Zoe shifted slightly. "Something wrong?"

The brunette immediately snapped out of it. "No! Nothing's wrong! Nothing at all!"

The girl shrugged, accepting the answer. Takuya looked back at her white coat, frowning slightly.

"Are you a doctor here or something? Not to be rude or anything, but you look to be a bit too young to be a doctor," he told her.

"No, I'm just an intern here," Zoe said. "All interns and staff wear white coats to help point us out to the patients, since patients are allowed to wear whatever they want. You see, I've always been interested in this field of medical service. I'm only fifteen, but it'll give me some experience while I wait to get into college."

Takuya laughed. "You're already thinking about college? I don't even think about next week."

Zoe smiled. "Yeah, well, I like to think ahead. So, would you like me to show you around or would you prefer to wait for your grandfather?"

"I'll go with you,"he replied without hesitation. "If I go with my grandfather, we'll only be talking about gambling and noodles."

"Then it's settled," the blond replied, before turning to look at one of the seated patients. "Dave, if an elderly man comes by looking for his grandson, could you just tell him that his grandson went with me?"

Dave nodded. "Sure thing, Dr. Zoe."

"Thank you. We should be back by snack time, okay?"

"Okay!" He replied enthusiastically before resuming his puzzle.

Zoe began to lead Takuya down the corrider, the blond greeting patients who were walking past them.

"Why do they call you 'doctor'?" Takuya asked after several more patients had addressed her in that manner.

"Well, they think I'm a doctor because of the white coat. I've explained that I'm only an intern, but they keep calling me 'doctor.' So I just let them do it and don't bother correcting them anymore," Zoe replied.

"Do you like working here?" Takuya inquired, watching as a young woman painted a picture of a cactus on a wall.

Zoe rushed over to the woman, asking her to paint in lounge instead. The patient nodded, then ran off down the hallway swinging her paintbrush and paintbox.

"I love working here," Zoe told him. "It almost feels like a second home to me."

Two more patients were approaching them, two teenagers that were walking in hand-in-hand. The boy had messy light brown hair and green eyes, while the girl had blue eyes and strawberry blond hair. They were singing a song that Takuya found to be strangely familiar.

_"A very merry unbirthday!_  
_To me_  
_To who?_  
_To me_  
_Oh, you!_

_A very merry unbirthday_  
_To you_  
_Who, me?_  
_To you_  
_Oh, me!_

_Let's all congratulate us with another cup of tea_  
_A very merrry unbirthday to you!"_

"Are you believing this?" Takuya asked with a laugh.

Zoe nodded, smiling at him. "Yup, they love that song and sing it about ten times a day."

_"Now statistics prove_  
_Prove that you've one birthday_  
_Imagine just one birthday every year_  
_Ah, but there are 364 unbirthdays_  
_Precisesly why we're gathered here to cheer_

_A very merry unbirthday_  
_To me?_  
_To you_  
_A very merry unbirthday_  
_For me?_  
_For you_  
_Now blow the candle out, my dear_  
_And make your wish come true_  
_A VERY MERRY UNBIRTHDAY TO YOOOOUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

Once the patients had finished their song, they rushed over to Zoe with grins on their faces.

"Hey, Eiji. Hi, Mikomi," Zoe said to them. "How are you today?"

"We're great," Eiji, the teenage boy replied.

Mikomi nodded. "Yup. Do you know what today is?"

"What?" Zoe asked, feigning puzzlement.

"Our unbirthdays!" They replied unanimously.

Zoe gave them a look of surprise. "Really? Today is my unbirthday, too!"

"Wow, that's great!" Eiji said.

"Is it your boyfriend's unbirthday, too?" Mikomi asked, nodding to Takuya.

"Yep," Takuya replied, jokingly putting his arm around Zoe.

Zoe blushed from the touch, unable to speak.

"You two make such a cute couple," Mikomi gushed. "Sooooo cuuuuteeee!"

"Don't mind her," Eiji said to Takuya. "She's obsessed with 'cute' things. And I would offer you some tea, but we're all out right now."

"That's okay," Takuya said. "I'll just have to get some later."

The couple smiled and nodded, before Mikomi jumped onto Eiji's back for a piggyback ride.

"Well, we better get going," Eiji said, before taking off down the hallway with Mikomi. "See ya!"

"See why I like working here?" Zoe asked. "Everyone is so nice. People think that just because someone has a few mental issues, that they're automatically dangerous and should be avoided. Do you agree with that?"

Takuya flinched, remembering his outburst right before stepping into the building. "Uh...No! Of course not! Hahahah, why would you think that?! Did someone tell you?"

Zoe raised an eyebrow, taking a step away from the twitching boy. "No, I was just curious....."

"But no, I don't think that everyone is dangerous. Maybe some, but definitely not all of them," Takuya replied.

The blond flashed him a smile. "That's good. It's nice to know that not everyone is judgemental. I like the way you think."

Takuya's face turned slightly red, but a second later, he saw a young man running down the corrider with a cart. The man lost his grip on the handles, causing the cart to go flying down the hallway in Takuya and Zoe's direction.

"Runaway cart!" The patient yelled, running after it.

"Shit!" Takuya shoved Zoe away from the wheeled object, pinning her against the wall.

As the cart passed them, the man took a round object out of his pocket and threw it at one of the wheels. "Squirtle! I choose you!"

The plastic Pokemon ball did not release a Pokemon, but did cause the cart to topple over. It landed on its side, its wheels still spinning.

"Good job, Squirtle!" The patient shouted, running over to the toppled cart. "Hey, Dr. Zoe!"

Takuya moved away from the blond, both of them redder than tomatoes.

"Uh, hello, Akira," Zoe replied. "Tell Squirtle that I said 'good job'."

"I will!" Akira said happily, picking the plastic ball up. "See you later! And it's nice that you've got a boyfriend!"

Before Zoe or Takuya could respond, Akira was wheeling the cart away, jumping into it once it had picked up enough speed.

"Uh...thanks for pushing me out of the way," Zoe said in a low voice.

"D-don't mention it," Takuya replied. "So...let's go look around a bit more."

_Three hours later_

"Where the heck is that boy?!" Kichirou complained. "I haven't seen him since we got here!"

Dr. Akamatsu scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, one of the patients said that he was with Zoe.... So if we find her, then we'll find him as well."

The two men wandered down the corriders, looking in every direction.

"That boy is gonna get it," Kichirou muttered. "His attention span is so short, only God knows what the heck he's up to..."

Dr. Akamatsu chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Zoe is very responsible, but....."

Kichirou raised an eyebrow. "But what?"

"Well...you'll see," the doctor replied lightly. "Why don't we check in this room?"

He opened one of the doors, surprised by what he and the old man saw inside. The room was a supply closet, filled with an assortment of various cleaning tools, snacks, extra furniture, and several other items. On one of the couches, Takuya was lying down with Zoe, their bodies entwined as their lips were locked in a passionate kiss.

Irritation marks twitched on Kichirou's forehead. "Whattaya doin', boy?!"

"Aaah!" Takuya toppled off of Zoe and onto the floor.

Zoe quickly sat up, her face red. "Dr. Akamatsu! I can explain!"

"Yeah, we uh....uh...." Takuya shakily stood up, looking light a deer caught in the headlights.

"What is the meaning of this, Takuya?!" His grandfather demanded. "I ask you to help around today and you decide to run off and-"

"I'm sorry!" Takuya exclaimed, interruping him. "I blame my short attention span!"

Zoe stood up beside him, her face filled with shame. "I'm sorry, sir. It's my fault."

Despite the fact that Kichirou was so mad that steam was coming out of his ears, the doctor merely chuckled.

"Well, Takuya. It seems that Zoe has taken a liking to you," he speculated.

"Takuya, I'm gonna kick your butt into next week!" Kichirou exclaimed, his hands balled into fists. "Come here!"

"Oh, shit!" The brunette jumped behind the couch, pulling Zoe with him. "Zoe, don't let the crazy bastard hurt me!"

Kichirou fell down anime style. "Crazy bastard?! I'll teach ya! Get over here!"

"Mr. Kanbara, it's okay. Settle down," Dr. Akamatsu said in calm voice.

Kichirou and Takuya both looked at him. "Who are you talking to? Me or him?!"

"Both of you, I guess," the doctor replied. "Now, why don't we just calm down? Takuya, you and Zoe can come out from behind the couch."

The two teens obliged, both of them looking down shamefully.

"Anyway, I think I should be thanking you, Takuya," Akamatsu said.

"What?!" Takuya and Kichiriou exclaimed. "Why?"

"For taking such good care of Zoe," the doctor told them. "I'm glad you kept an eye on her for so long."

Takuya raised an eyebrow. "Kept an eye on her? She was showing me around and stuff, since she's an intern... Why would I be keeping an eye on her?"

Dr. Akamatsu chuckled. "So that's what she told you, huh?"

The brunette gaped at him, then looked at Zoe. "Zoe...you're not an intern?"

"Well...." Zoe's voice trailed off and she lowered her head in shame. "No...I'm not...."

"Then....what are you?" He asked.

Dr. Akamatsu smiled. "She's one of my patients here."

Takuya looked at the blond in surprise. "Is that true?"

Zoe nodded sadly. "Yes...I'm sorry I lied to you."

She quickly pulled the white coat off and handed it to the doctor. Without another word, she bolted from the room, her face red from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry about Zoe," Akamatsu said. "She's really a nice girl and enjoys helping out as though she's part of the staff. The other patients see her in the same way, which is why many of them call her 'Dr. Zoe'. I hope you're not too mad."

"I should be mad that my half-witted grandson took advantage of your patient!" Kichirou said miserably.

Akamatsu waved his hand dismissively. "Hey, she's a teenager. She knows what she's doing, and I don't hold Takuya accountable for their actions. They're only kids."

"Yeah...I guess you're right," Kichirou said. "Well, Takuya.... Do you want to get going? ...Takuya? Takuya?!"

Neither he, nor Dr. Akamatsu had noticed Takuya sneaking out the door to catch up with Zoe. He was now long gone, in pursuit of the blond.

"Let's go find him," the old man grumbled. "Damn that boy...."

_Meanwhile_

"Zoe! Wait up!" Takuya ran up the girl, who looked up at him sadly.

"I'm so sorry, Takuya. I didn't mean to lie to you like that...I just....I don't know," she mumbled, trying to walk away.

However, Takuya pulled her into a hug. "Zoe, I don't care. I like you and that's all that matters. So what if you dress up like a doctor?"

"Intern," she corrected him.

"Whatever. But whether you pretend to be an intern or a three-headed alien, I'm still going to like you," he told her.

"Really?" The blond asked, surprised.

Takuya nodded, pressing his lips up against hers. Several of the patients stood around, many of them saying 'Awwww'. One of them randomly shouted out 'This here possum is still moving!' Seconds later, they were joined by Kichirou and Dr. Akamatsu.

"Well, I think everything turned out well," Akamatsu said cheerfully. "They both seem happy."

"Yeah, I suppose," Kichirou replied with a smirk. "Though my grandson is still a half-wit....."

After they broke the kiss, Takuya took Zoe's hand and began to run down the hallway with her.

"Takuya, where are you going?!" His grandfather yelled after him.

"I'm seeing how much a room is for the night!" He called back, intending to get admitted.

Kichirou's eyes widened. "WHAAAAT?! Takuya! Get you butt back here! How am I supposed to explain to your parents that you're in a mental facility?! TAKUYA! GET BACK HERE OR SO HELP ME, I'LL DRAG YOU BACK MY DAMN SELF! TAKUYAAAAA!"

**Okay, that wraps up my looney bin one-shot. Hope you liked it and if you didn't then...well...I'll live with it. Please review if you have the time ^_^**


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